The notion of pure altruism attempts to create a dichotomy between the self and others, implying that true selflessness is possible. Yet, in reality, individuals exist within a web of relationships and mutual dependencies.
for - adjacency - pure altruism - selflessness - self / other dualism - individual / collective gestalt - Deep Humanity - biological limitations - evolutionary limitations
adjacency - between - pure altruism - selflessness - self / other dualism - individual / collective gestalt - Deep Humanity - biological limitations - evolutionary limitations - adjacency relationship - From an evolutionary and biological perspective, - the individual organism is district from other organisms and the environment - The individual is defined by a separating boundary and it must exchange energy and materials with it's environment as a necessary condition of survival. It must - receive and input nutrients inputs and - transmit, output and eliminate waste byproducts - The word 'selfless' is a polar abstraction. No individual can be 100% selfless or it would be an act of self-annihilation, a self-destructive act of denying 100% of all inputs necessary for its own survival - Existing as a living, individual organism requires some degree of individual self care - At the same time, the process of sexual reproduction, - in contrast to asexual reproduction - involves two organisms with sperm and egg, and is inherently social - In multi cellular organisms with highly complex social behaviours - such as our species - there is a strong learned component of concern for other as well - Pure selflessness is as rare as pure selfishness - Most of us have degrees of self care and degrees of care for others - Self and other are intertwingled, hence the Deep Humanity terms: - individual / collective gestalt - self / other gestalt